According to an August 2016 survey conducted by email marketing and automation firm Autopilot, marketing automation tools are helping businesses with sales tasks like creating repeat buyers, onboarding new customers, and, most importantly, generating new leads. Among the US-based advertising decision-makers queried who had deployed marketing automation tools, nearly a third of respondents said “generating new leads” was the area where marketing automation had the biggest impact.

How are marketers using automation tools to improve lead generation? Many organizations say automation allows them to more efficiently identify, contact and nurture potential business prospects. In Autopilot’s study respondents said the most effective uses for automation included generating leads from acquired lists (40%), automating sales outreach emails (38%) and nurturing warm leads to be sales-ready (38%).

Autopilot’s study reflects other research suggesting a growing embrace of automation tools for lead generation. September 2016 polling of business-to-business enterprise marketers by Annuitas found that more than 86% of respondents said marketing automation had been somewhat or very effective in having an impact on their pipeline and revenue.